Two Die In New Haven Shootout

2 Die, 1 Injured In New Haven Shootout

NEW HAVEN — C Two men were killed in a shootout early Saturday outside a diner whose owner was unable to hire an off-duty officer for the night because of a police job action.

The shooting involved three of ten shooting victims in violence around the city Saturday at a time when about 40 officers had called in sick to protest disciplinary action against two officers. Chris Papanikolaou, part owner of the Athenian Diner on Whalley Avenue, said he hires an officer every Thursday, Friday and Saturday to provide security.

"We were unable to get an officer. I'm sure if there was a police officer here, he could have prevented the fight," he said. "Two people had breakfast in here and there were people waiting for them when they left." By late Saturday night, three people were shot during an armed robbery at a Sunoco station on Goffe Street, and three others were shot at the corner of Edgewood and Orchard streets. Mid-morning Saturday, one person was shot at the corner of Church and Elm streets.

Police were releasing no further information on the conditions of these victims or the shootings, which were under investigation Saturday.

Saturday afternoon, police said they were still investigating the cause of the gunfire in the diner parking lot at about 3 a.m.

In that shooting, Hure Polle, 23, of Alton St., and Andrew Pasley, 22, of East Ramsdell St., both in New Haven, went to Yale-New Haven Hospital with chest wounds. Polle died at about 3:30 a.m. and Pasley died several hours later.

A third man, Chris Roach, 22, of Parkside Drive in New Haven, was hit in the arm and taken to the Hospital of St. Raphael in New Haven, where he was treated and released.

Police said they were unsure whether the shooting was gang-related. The violence might have been a finale to fighting that took place earlier in the evening several blocks away from the diner, Papanikolaou said.

Most of the officers who called in sick were scheduled to work the 4 p.m.-to-midnight and midnight-to-8 a.m. shifts Friday, said

Police Chief Nicholas Pastore. He was reached before the shooting, but was unavailable for comment afterward.

Before the shooting, Pastore said the department was carrying out contingency plans to ensure that the city received adequate police coverage. He said some officers were being reassigned and supervisors were being placed on street patrol.

"We'll make sure the city has enough protection," Pastore said. "I certainly understand [the officers'] concerns. However, we should not put their concerns above public safety." Pastore apparently spurred the "blue flu" by recommending disciplinary action against officers Giro Esposito and Thomas Herbert, even though they were cleared of criminal charges in the June 17 death of Anthony Laudano.

The union had no part in organizing a sickout, said Sgt. Louis G. Cavalier, the union's president, although he said he had heard about it. "As far as we are concerned, people are sick today," he said.

Pastore had said the two officers violated departmental policy on the use of firearms and deadly force when they shot and killed Laudano as he tried to flee the scene of an attempted drug buy.

Esposito, 21, and Herbert, 26, fired 10 shots at Laudano. Esposito was thrown onto the hood of Laudano's car and fired the fatal shot through the windshield as the car sped away.

The officers are scheduled for a hearing before the board of police commissioners on Nov. 18. Punishment could range from a reprimand to dismissal.